Jogging with the MS200

The only time that my MS200 has ever skipped (excluding the times I've
tried to make it skip on purpose) is while I'm jogging. Here's what I've
tried:

MS200 in my pocket: Fine for about 10s (...naturally), and then skips
continuously

MS200 in a camera pouch on my belt: Better than the pocket, but still
pretty lousy

MS200 in my hand: This is the only acceptable way I've found to run with
the minidisk player. I only get the occasional skip when I'm running
down a steep hill.

For jogging it's best to have PSave mode turned off. PSave mode reduces
the minimum buffer size from 10s to roughly 4s, thus allowing the disk
to stop spinning for half the time (thus saving precious battery
power). The cycle is roughly: read 4s, sleep 6s. What this means is
that immediately following a read cycle the buffer is full (10s) and
immediately preceeding it the buffer has only 4s remaining, giving you
an average buffer time of 7s. If you happen to bump the player at the
bottom of the cycle, it only has 4s to get itself back on track, which
is enough time in perfect conditions, but not while jogging. With PSave
off (and with the player in my hand) I have never experienced skipping
while jogging.

No doubt the way that you jog also affects how much skipping you'll
experience, as does the terrain you're running on, and the type of shoes
you're wearing. I don't think that the brand of minidisk player you're
using is much of a factor at all, but I'd like to hear about the
experiences of owners of other portables.

Another user (KDelaet@aol.com) adds:

To all those who have asked about running with MD, I tried something
new today. I used my old E2 and placed it in a Case Logic Neoprene
fanny pack. I put it in the smaller of the two pockets where it fit
really snug, and started out. Unfortunately it skipped all over the
place. I tried several configurations, but always got skips. Then I
got an Idea. I shifted the bag so that the latch was over my left hip
and the R2 was directly over my right, and ... no more skips! I ran hard for
1 1/2 miles like that with absolutely no skips, and the belt was quite
comfortable. I also used regular (no foam pad) headphones because I
hate it when the in-line remote smacks into my chest.

Fellow
runners may want to give this a whirl if you are like me and dislike
running with something in your hand.

Brian West (mbwest@bigfoot.com) adds:

I use Case Logic's NPS-1 neoprene walkman "bum bag" (or as we Americans call
them: fanny packs). This bag has a very small holder for the walkman, so
MD's are very snug inside. Rather than having the MD/Walkman pouch sitting
on the lower back, I rotated it so the MD was at my belly. I then put it
just underneath the waistband my running shorts, which inhibited almost all
lateral movements - and thus, skips were essentially eliminated.

Tom Fallows (tom@epinions.com) adds:

This is the solution that I came up with: I
strapped the unit to my upper arm with a sweatband. You'll find that the MD
player will be held snugly to your arm, and the motion of your arm is a lot
more gentle that then swinging of your hips. This should also be fine for
just about any activity you want to try. I have the same Sony MZ-R55 and
its works just fine. May not be the most stylish solution (but after a
fanny pack, it's not that bad); get a retro sweatband and it'll look damn
good.

Jeff Kellam (jak@sismicro.com) adds:

In my experiences with running, I've used a Case Logic MD-1 belt
pack. The key is to orient the unit in the pack so that the direction
of shock (vertical for running) is parallel to the direction the head
is reading from (tangential to the minidisc). Otherwise, the direction
of shock is across tracks (radial to the disk), and skipping is MUCH
worse.

With a belt pack and proper orientation, I can run/jog 4-5 miles and
only have a couple of skips towards the end (when my legs are getting
tired).

Also, the Sony 268 earbuds are great for running.

Will S. adds

I have found a killer solution that works well when running with a
Minidisc player.

I requires just about any weight lifting glove (I used one made called
"Multi Grip") with two velcro straps and a specific camera bag. The
camera bag is exactly the size of the MZ-R30 and is made by AMBICO, I
found it at Wal-Mart. This bag has a flap and a small flat belt hoop
on the back. By combining these two items, you can run without the
Minidisc player skipping and without having to hold it in your hand.
You have to attach the camera bag as follows so that you have two
anchoring points.

put the camera flap under the weight glove strap such that when
tightened it holds the flap at it folding point.

slide the weight glove's lower flap through the hoop on the backside
of the camera bag.

That it! It helps if you are actually wearing the glove when making
adjustments.